Let me tell you why I took an instant liking to that area for the year that I was there.
1. I don't go out to eat that often, but when I do, I like Indian, Italian, Thai, and Mexican. I could find all of those there, with vegetarian options aplenty.
2. There were a number of cool little independent coffeehouses and cafes.
3. I like to cook, and there were afforable grocery and whole foods stores.
4. I don't need a place that has four good concerts a week. One or two suits me plenty, and I found they get most of the shows that come to DC down there, at a lower ticket cost. I'n addition to the Cat's Cradle, there was Local 506 and a couple more in chapel Hill that I can't remember the name of. There was also the Brewery in Raleigh, and a couple of places in Durham that I never made it to in the one year.
5. You could drive 10 miles and be out into the beautiful countryside.
6. People didn't care what I did for a living, and didn't hinge their friendship on who I worked for or what I thought politically.
7. I'm a big baseball fan, and Durham had a beautiful minor league stadium. I'm not a basketball fan, but I imagine if I lived there long enough I would have been nudged into following ACC basketball, which would have been fun.
8. People (in general) seemed to strike a balance between building their education/career AND starting a family life, rather than being more focused on one or the other.
All of the above, and I didn't have to put up with city things that I instinctively dislike: tall buildings that block the view of the sky, massive traffic congestion, pollution, dodgy vagrants hitting me up for money, five dollar beers when I wanted to grab a pint, etc.
Originally posted by Barcelona:
6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Yes sure... I trust this survey.
